Shinko ravens (009)

omslaw

Michelle owns my Busa
Staff member
Administrator
I've been hearing more chatter about the Shinko Ravens.

Anyone currently running them and/or had them? How do they compare with M1's or P-Powers? Better/worse than the OEM Battlax? What's the longevity been?


Any info appreciated!
 
Ha get in line for this question. I did a search and really came up with the same question I had when I started searching.
 
I sell alot of these and installed a set just yesterday,good warmup,last a good period if tire pressure is maintained,and road hazards don't fail.
 
Got about 1000 miles on mine so I can't give you a good review yet. Rapid warmup, much better than the bridgestones that were stock. Other than that can't say yet.
 
My set is being installed as I type.
smile.gif
 
Okay, here goes....


I had the Ravens installed on the 1st of June and have since put about 1600 miles on them. The mileage has been a mixture of surface street/freeway commuting and well, let's say "spirited" sport touring. My initial impressions have been that compared to the stock Bridgestone BT56's, these tires have a flatter profile. The best I can explain this without being able to show you the two tires side by side is to say that the stockers were a bit more triangular. Supersport tires like the Michelin Pilot Powers, Dunlop Qualifiers, Pirelli Diablo Corsas, etc. all have a very elliptical shape which drastically increases the rider's ability to turn in to corners faster and also to make a quick transition from side to side. Flatter profiled tires are necessarily a bit more laborious to throw into a turn. The reason that i say that they are necessarily so is that tires like the Ravens are designed for higher mileage at the expense of ultimate stickyness. Don't read into that last statement too much...these tires are pretty sticky. I'm no slouch in the twisties.

The Ravens hook up very well from a standing start stoplight to stoplight. The stockers tended to spin occasionally under a heavy throttle hand.

As for warm-up time, I would say that they warm up as quick or quicker than the stockers, but slower than Pilot Powers.

Tread depth on the Ravens is deeeeeeep!! The grooves, which strangely resemble that of our beloved kanji symbol, are cavernous. I expect no less than 8000 miles from the rear and more from the front, barring any road hazards.

As for price...they can't be beat. I had my set installed for under 200 bucks.

I cannot comment on their performance in the wet stuff....cause...well...I live in Arizona and it doesn't rain here...ever.

For those of you who use your busa as a daily driver/ primary vehicle to commute to work with the regular weekend blast up the mountain, these are great tires. If you are looking for a super sticky, canyon carving occasional track day tire, I would advise against the Ravens.

Hope this helps...
 
Thanks for the update!

I may try a set of them for my next tires. I live in KS - bout the closest I get to twisties is hitting the freeway on-ramp!

Keep us posted with your progress!
 
Just got my set yesterday. 159.00 shipped to my door from ridenow.com

I'll post some results after running them for a while. But as was posted earlier the tread depth is very deep...
 
working on my rear tire...installed at 4100 miles...got it for 86 bucks at iron pony....still trying them out...have not noticed big diffrence yet...will keep posted
 
The shinko ravens are ( I'm my opinion) a overly capable "high mileage" tire. They take no time to heat, they hook up exceptionally, and look good doing it. Ravens + Busa = a spirited riding masterpiece. The price ain't too bad either. If I had it all to do over, I wouldn't change a thing. I my opinion, far more superior to a battlax bt015. I made the jump from 190/50 17 to a 200/50 17. Feels like it sweetened the bike a little.
 
The shinko ravens are ( I'm my opinion) a overly capable "high mileage" tire. They take no time to heat, they hook up exceptionally, and look good doing it. Ravens + Busa = a spirited riding masterpiece. The price ain't too bad either. If I had it all to do over, I wouldn't change a thing. I my opinion, far more superior to a battlax bt015. I made the jump from 190/50 17 to a 200/50 17. Feels like it sweetened the bike a little.

I agree. I did the same thing and went with a 200. Only 1500-ish miles in and can only say good things about them.
 
I was impressed with the handling characteristic of the "flatter" profiled 200. So far I've only got maybe 900 miles on the set.
 
I have ran a few sets I could get about 7,000 miles out of the front & no more than 5,000 out of the rear. (42psi front and rear) cant say anything bad about them there good cheap tires!
 
Back
Top